Bring a Bag and a Handkerchief

  Bring a Bag and a Handkerchief

       My grandmother, Mama Iyay, taught me this Philippine proverb which I will first say in Visayan for the sake of the rhyme it gives:

        Nangayo walay panyo

      Gitugutan, walay a pustan.

       Panyo means handkerchief. The first line says, you asked for something but brought no handkerchief.  Putos means to wrap. The second line says, you were given permission to partake of our goods but you had nothing to wrap it with.

      In the rural areas, people from the coastal town will go house to house in the barrio begging for root crops that farmers raise in their farms.  The farmers share their crops. They place one or two sweet potatoes or a variety of ubi or gabi into their neighbor's basket. Other recipients spread their handkerchief, place the root crops on top and tie the corners of the handkerchief together to form a makeshift basket with a handle, thus wrapping the crops given to them. Without a basket or a handkerchief, one is limited to two crops, one for each hand.  One can only go to one house to beg since one cannot accommodate further free offerings from the house next door without a container.  The long walk from the town to the barrio is hardly worth the effort to come home with only two potatoes.

      The implication here is that the giver may be willing to give but we cannot take  the gift with us without an appropriate container.  We have to do our part to benefit from the gift we are receiving.  We are limited in what and how much we can receive by our capacity to receive. 

      The Boy Scout/ Girl Scout motto, "Be prepared" speaks to this theme. My mother constantly reminded me to carry at all times a few pennies, quarters, nickels and dimes and a few singles in my wallet.  We can never tell when an emergency situation might just require any of these things.

      The container and what goes into the container are two separate things.  We can always get our container in good repair, keep it clean and empty, ready to receive the next gift.  We do not say, 'Why get a container when I do not see a donor coming?'  I say, when a donor is coming, it is too late to be looking for a container. Get that bag ready.  Get that handkerchief folded up and tucked in your pocket.

       I once made a list of science and math educational materials to purchase in case there was money available in the budget or someone might donate funds to the program.  I made the list as clear as I could.  It included catalog number, price, name of catalog, page of catalog for every item on my list.  I kept the list on top of my desk ready for pick-up at a moment's notice. At a faculty meeting at the end of the year, the Dean announced that the budget has a few dollars left so if anyone has some needs, submit a requisition in writing to the secretary.  As soon as the meeting was adjourned, I ran to my office, fetched the list and handed it to the secretary.  The secretary was surprised how quickly I produced such a detailed list.  I smiled.  My request was approved as it was within budget and I received the materials ordered.

      In the field of learning, the student only learns what one is ready to learn.  For this reason, we motivate the student to want to learn and experience the joy of learning.  For example, we read a story with vocal variety, dramatic expression and audience involvement.  Students see that reading is fun. We want to learn when we are having fun. We pair them up with students who can read.  Students thus exposed will see that learning to read is within reach and they want to learn how to read. 

      Every lesson in reading leads to mastery of certain fundamentals of reading. Success leads to self-confidence which in turn enables them to learn the next steps.  The more they learn the more they want to learn. In other words, we prepare their 'vessels' so that they can be receptive to the teaching that follows.   We not only concern ourselves with the content we are going to teach, we also spend time and effort in increasing their capacity to learn. 

      Confidence in one's capacity to learn, trust in the teacher's ability to make learning possible go hand in hand to approach learning with optimism and joy.  We learn more when we are having fun.  We try to optimize this learning process by first cleaning our vessel. We turn our vessel over to empty the mud and sand of misconceptions and misunderstandings.  We wash it clean to keep an open, inquiring mind, an eagerness to learn and the willingness to work hard to achieve learning. Learning is a commitment.  Without a consistent, deliberate, sustained  effort to engage in activities designed to lead to learning, learning will not take place.  

      It is not as important to learn things quickly as to work diligently day after day.  As the saying goes, 'Easy come, easy go.'  Learning which comes easily will soon be forgotten.  On the other hand, learning that is acquired slowly over a long time, using different activities to make connections with the subject matter, allows learning to be permanent.  We have the opportunity to build a stronger, larger vessel while expanding the content of our learning.  We have the chance to weave new learning into the many aspects of our lifestyle.   

      What's in our vessel?  Is it too full that there is no room for new learning?  Is it over laden with "know-it-all" attitude which discourages listening from other opinions or inquiring further about some things that may be dissonant with our views? Is it colored with biases and prejudices?  Is the bottom coated with sediments of self-doubt and suspicious assessment of others? 

      Can we resolve with the New Year to clean up and prepare our vessel for new hope, new endeavor, new learning?  Can we deactivate useless and harmful patterns of thinking and activate instead encouraging, loving and helpful ways to help each other?  Let's think on these things.  Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year.